Star anise is a seasoning spice and is also used for medicinal purposes. The harvest season is from August to September each year. It is often rotting and deteriorated due to untimely processing, so the star anise should be dried in time. Today I will introduce the drying process of the star anise!
Picking
When the star anise fruit is mature, there are flowers and young fruits on the branches, so when picking the fruit, you can’t use the bamboo pole to drop the fruit, and it is not suitable to shake the branches and break the branches. You can only pick it up on the tree with your hands.
Blanching
Put the fresh star anise fruits in hot water at 80~100℃, stirring continuously. After 5~8 minutes of curing, take it out when the color of the fruit changes from turquoise green to light yellow.
Drying
1. Drying mode, adjust the temperature to 60°C and dry for 1 hour. No dehumidification is performed at this stage, mainly for color protection.
2. Drying + dehumidification mode, adjust the temperature to 55°C, and dry for 3 hours. A lot of dehumidification is required at this stage.
3. Drying + dehumidification mode, adjust the temperature to 45°C, and dry for 3 hours. At this stage, there is relatively little moisture and a small amount of dehumidification.
4. Drying mode, adjust the temperature to 65°C and dry for 2 hours.
Packaging
After the star anise is dried, the finished product can be packaged. Please keep it in a cool place and avoid sun exposure.
